Wine on the Radio - May 11, 2004

Does Wine Need to Age?

One of the most common questions we get is whether to drink or hold certain wine. So does wine have to age for a better experience?

Well the answer is a definite maybe!

Some wines require time in the bottle so that the key components can kind of meld together.  And take off the rougher edges.

Quality Cabernets, Barolo, Brunello, some merlots and syrah mature into elegant and complex wines for a decade or more . . . longer with great wines.

But most of the wine we buy is made to enjoy now and within a couple of years. In fact the great majority of wine sold is consumed within a day or two! Buy it today, drink it tonight is the norm. Most of us are so used to drinking younger wines that older ones may taste a bit strange and flat to us.

Does wine have to age? Some do. But don't get hung up on "proper aging."

The timing's up to you.

Pop the cork.™

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